


The true power of a Superhero - A sequel

by Seriesthoughts



Series: Grey's Anatomy stories [12]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:46:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seriesthoughts/pseuds/Seriesthoughts
Summary: This one is for a dear friend. And since it was her birthday on Friday, you can think of it as a little gift for the occasion.(I wanted to publish on Friday but I was sooo tired)It's a sequel she asked for about my Amelia AA speech short story I wrote a while ago.
Series: Grey's Anatomy stories [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586137
Kudos: 2





	The true power of a Superhero - A sequel

When Amelia came in this morning, she wasn’t sure if she should. Everything was going smoothly right now, but still, she had this constant reminder in the back of her mind : No matter how easy things could feel, she had to go back once in a while, make herself a check up, somehow.

She was nervous, to say the least. For all the years she had been coming to meetings, this never got any easier, even though you might think it would. 

People she spoke in front of were total strangers, for starters. Sometimes, you came often enough so that a face or two felt familiar. But as you got used to seeing them, experiencing like an impression of comfort from confiding in people you knew and could relate to, it took only a few weeks for you absence to shift things around.

After only a few times without going, whether it was because of too much work or something else, she would be back to faces she never saw in her life and a sense of loneliness. 

Having witnessed this a million times didn’t make it any better. And she always wondered what happened to them. Did they go to another meeting or simply not need it anymore ? Or had they relapsed like most ? She wasn’t holding her breath to find out : optimism wasn’t one her best trait. Not to mention, she couldn’t believe somebody was suddenly done with all this.

It was a constant struggle. As her friend Richard had more than once said, both to her and Betty when she was still around, you should never make the mistake of thinking you were cured.

As participants went up on the stage and displayed their stories, she realized she was barely listening. Shame washed over her for an instant. But she didn’t know anyone, and she guessed it was the same for them. 

Even though people would applaud and watch her as if they’d been drinking her words, on the inside, they might have been too far from it to even care. She couldn’t blame them. Neither could they.

Sometimes, she was conflicted about all this. Talking to close ones was no walk in the park either. But she often wondered if the anonymity of it all didn’t somehow defeat the purpose.

You were supposed to heal from it. And who better to help you do that than your loved ones ?

When noone was left, she knew it was her time to go up. Breathing a bit shakily, she sighed and went to the stage, feeling a million eyes staring at her. Were they really gonna listen, or was it just a pretense ?

Before speaking up, she gulped, building up her strength one last time.

\- Remember, you’re a superhero, she kept to herself.

\- Hi, I’m Amelia and I’m an addict !

\- Hi Amelia, said everyone in unison. 

Even with all the questions racing through her mind prior to this, she still felt some relief hearing this. Some of the means of those reunions might be strange and inadequate, but the way everyone answered all the time to someone introducing themselves felt right.

It was like each time, they welcomed anyone into their little community, recognizing them as one of their own. Even though they barely knew each other’s name, they were in the same shit together. And it meant so much.

\- I haven’t been here for a while, she started, feeling like justifying a bit. I was busy for one, but also... 

She paused, trying to find the right words.

\- It’s easy to forget you need to attend when you’re happy right ? 

A few of the audience nodded, seemingly approving her statement. Others dropped their gaze to the floor in shame, and she felt bad for a minute. 

\- But no matter how much you’re thriving, you should never stop being careful. One moment. It’s all it takes. And sometimes, happy times can be scary as well. I know that because...

She took her breath, thinking about her son.

\- I’ve became a mother very recently and it’s been... Amazing, really. But also very very scary. My baby boy, should harm ever come to him, it would... it would drive me crazy and I keep thinking about it.

Although she could have mentioned Christopher, she didn’t. This was a new group, and she didn’t feel like displaying it to everyone. Knowingly, these people should understand her fear as a new mom, even without her whole story displayed.

Reactions were almost absent, and as she thought she had covered the most important part of it, she moved on to another subject. 

\- Everyone is praising me because of how well I’m doing. And I’m like, “don’t”. I have a friend who knows how it works. He even goes to meetings with me sometimes. Once, I was thriving and taking care of a teenage addict, who was a lot like me. I loved her like if she was my daughter. He said “don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you’re cured”. That’s how aware he was.

Saying that, she realized she might be crushing someone’s hopes. But she also couldn’t lie about this. Maybe this would help someone realize how it was and work on it harder.

If she could save another person’s sanity or even life with her words, she needed to try. She had many friends to tell her off when she had no means to be self aware, so why couldn’t she provide the same for someone else ?

Now that she got her sobriety under control, she felt she could extend a hand and help out. In her own way.

\- And even though it’s been years, it’s still freaking hard you know ? Like when I see a friend having a drink at a party I’m invited too. And I’m thinking how much I’d kill to be able to do that, have a drink like a normal person, without it turning big the next morning.

And it was even more true each day passing. But she knew very well she could never go back, even for a little sip. Last time she even had one by accident, she fell of the wagon big time.

A drink turned into several, which then turned into pills and before she could realize, she was writing her own prescriptions and falling all the way down into oblivion. 

\- Although we can argue the hangover “normal” people experience the day after isn’t quite like “not turning big the next morning”. I mean, I should know, I have many friends who always complain about their heads the day after, and you have to freaking whisper if you wanna be around them. 

There was a slight laugh at this, which made her smile in return. It lightened the mood a little and left her satisfied with her joke. Who said AA meetings couldn’t and shouldn’t be more chill ?

\- That being said, I think I’m gonna keep coming for a while, just to be safe. And I will come on top, because I’m a superhero. Just like all of you, trying to be better. Being here shows that. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Because we’re coming back from hell. Not everyone can fight what we’re fighting. You’re alive today, and it’s not easy. But it will get better if you keep at it, I promise. No matter how dark it can get, life will out.

And as always, she meant every word. She was a superhero. And her true power, was never giving up.


End file.
